This is YUGE!!! The Donald signaled that he might not support Paul Ryan for re-election, and now he’s made it clear that he won’t. And it’s only a WEEK before the primary!!
From the Washington Post:
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is refusing to back House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in his upcoming primary election, saying in an interview Tuesday that he is “not quite there yet” in endorsing his party’s top-ranking elected official.
Trump also said he was not supporting Sen. John McCain in his primary in Arizona, and he singled out Sen. Kelly Ayotte as a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire, a state whose presidential primary Trump won handily.
With Ryan’s Wisconsin primary scheduled for next Tuesday, Trump praised the House speaker’s underdog opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign.” Trump said that Ryan has sought his endorsement, but that as of now he is only “giving it very serious consideration.”
“I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump said. “We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”
Trump’s refusal to back Ryan represents an extraordinary breach of political decorum and signals that the Republican Party remains divided two weeks after a national convention in Cleveland staged to showcase party unity.
That’s a pretty big deal, but I have to think that it’s mostly to grab headlines – once Trump sees that Ryan is doing well in the polls, he’ll turn on Nehlen just so that he’ll look like a “winner” instead of backing a losing campaign. But maybe I’m wrong – what do you think?